All of us are disappointed, except the priests I guess

Is there no way the public can put pressure on this or appeal it? Either the judge was bought and paid for or is scared to release the data for fear of retaliation

Judge them by what they do, not what they say. In public the pope and cardinals said they were so so sorry, behind the scenes fighting tooth and nail to hide perpetrators and their many enablers.

The church, all churches really, is just a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice. Treat the whole organization like the organized crime it is!

i think if a huge number of people physically went out and demonstrated, disrupted church services, called media, clergy, etc. it would at least underscore how powerless we really are against large and entrenched institutions. and then maybe somebody else who wants to seize power would find a way to leverage that? not much would change though, unfortunately.

Sue the fuck out of them.

Unfortunately the most effective way to pressure them would be for people to stop attending, but it will never happen. They have a bunch of people who think if they stop going to mass, they will go to Hell.

And the folks who shielded them all these years, one imagines.

Does anyone have a link to the order or briefings on the motion to seal? This doesn't seem right

If anyone wants a more in-depth explanation of what's going on, the Archdiocese has their own (obviously biased) FAQ on "the why" of their actions. https://www.archbalt.org/faq-on-maryland-attorney-generals-nov-18-2022-motion/

Years ago I testified at trial (for victims’ counsel) in a well-publicized priest sex abuse case in a different city. There were extensive investigative records in that case going back decades involving dozens of victims. The judge in that case disallowed so much testimony on behalf of victims it was shocking. I was only allowed to testify because I had first-hand knowledge that directly impeached sworn testimony of a defense witness. That case was so sad and involved several of my friends. One committed suicide at 14 and his parents found a note incriminating the priest. The ONLY reason any of the information was public was because of the work of some brave reporters and the accounts of several brave victims and families. Even now years later it’s depressing to think about. The extent to which judges and police were complicit in not only covering up the original abuse but in re-victimizing the victims through gaslighting, sealing records, and covering up reports is abhorrent. The Baltimore Diocese - and this judge - will never have an ounce of moral credibility so long as these records are hidden. Shame on all of them.

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Wow,,, and we are too busy causing a rukus about port covington ... what a shame.

I wish it would be leaked.

I feel like I am crazy seeing the ramp up in anti-queer violence because we are being accused of pedophilia all while an actual verified pedophile ring with thousands of victims and hundreds of predators gets the state's full protection because apparently everyone has accepted that Christianity is just part of our culture and it needs to be protected and preserved at all costs.

I'm so tired of the hypocrisy. If a similar story existed where a cabal of openly queer people had thousands of underage victims queer people would be killed in the street.

"If kids got raped by clowns as often as kids get raped by preachers it would be against the law to take your kid to the circus."

##STOP COVERING IT UP

There have been "jokes" about "diddling altar boys" for at least fifty years and nothing was done about it for decades, except them shuffling the priests around if anybody found out. So much for that "moral authority."

(...and a friendly reminder that the Archdiocese of Baltimore is only one of three in this state!) And this is only the Catholics!